December 22, 2011

Updates as of 20 Mar, 2012: New proof of payment at the end of the article!

Times are hard with the food and oil prices going up by the days. All of us are feeling the pinch and worse thing is our pockets are shrinking while our income remain fairly stagnant for years. So, what does most of us do? It's most likely that most of us will start thinking of generating side income to supplement our income from our employment. The most common part time jobs that we can think of is normally selling unit trusts, selling insurance or even multi level marketing. Don't get me wrong! These part time jobs can be very lucrative if you really put in the effort. You might be seeing your first million if you are successful!

But, for those lazy bums like me, those part time jobs are not for me. Not that I'm not willing to put in the effort, but more of not too suitable for my personality. So for those fella who's shy and lack of initiative, so how do you generate a bit of side income while lazing at home?

December 21, 2011

Short-term losses and volatility are inevitable and investors have to live with them rather than be stifled by them, writes PETER BROOKS

THE choppy markets of the past few months may have made investors feel like they were reliving 2008 all over again. The bad news is that spikes in market volatility appear to be here to stay. The good news, however, is that there are ways to navigate safely through such times by purposefully managing our responses.

Higher volatility usually comes with higher levels of investor discomfort. Many investors consider pulling out of falling markets while those who see a buying opportunity can find it difficult to commit due to fear of mis-timing the purchase.

If higher volatility becomes the new norm, it is important for investors to better understand and take control of their investing behaviour. There are three easy strategies investors can adopt to increase their comfort in difficult markets: (i) keep the correct perspective of time horizon; (ii) rebalance assets; and (iii) keep an investment diary.